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The Sicilian vowel system is characteristic of the dialects of Sicily, Southern Calabria, Cilento and Salento.[2] It may alternatively be referred to as the Sicilian vocalic scheme[3] [full citation needed] or the Calabro-Sicilian vowel system.[2][full citation needed]
The Sicilian vowel system differs greatly from the evolution of the Classical Latin vowel system into the Vulgar Latin vowel system found in the greater part of the Romance area. In this system, there was a lowering (laxing) of short /i/, /e/, /o/, and /u/ into a seven-vowel system,[1] while in the development of the Sicilian vowel system from that of Classical Latin, long /eː/ was raised to [i] and fused with both quantities of /i/; short /e/ was lowered to [ɛ] with an analogous development with the round vowels;[1] i.e. long /oː/ was raised to [u] and fused with both quantities of [u]; short /o/ was lowered to [ɔ]. This resulted in a five-vowel system.
- ^ a b c Hurch, Bernhard (1996). Rhodes, Richard A.; Societas Linguistica Europaea Meeting (eds.). Natural Phonology: The State of the Art. Berlin: Walter de Gruyter.
- ^ a b Maiden, Martin; Parry, Mair (1997). The Dialects of Italy. London: Routledge.
- ^ North Carolina studies in the Romance languages and literatures. Chapel Hill, N.C.: University of North Carolina. 1973.
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